It was the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the Double Ninth Festival.
This was the day when Zhao Yanke and Li Wanming had agreed to deliver the wine, and it was also the day when he hosted a banquet for his elders.
The address had been sent to Li's Wine Shop early on: No. Jiazi, Changming Street, Inner City, Zhao Mansion.
When Li Wanming saw it at that time, she laughed and said, "Truly a wealthy family. Their residence is so close to the palace."
The architectural layout of the capital was divided into the inner and outer cities.
The inner city was centered around the palace and was mostly occupied by government offices. Because it was convenient for court attendance, officials and nobles also lived in the inner city. The outer city was where commoners lived.
In the east - west direction, Changming Street served as the boundary, stretching straight from the north and south sections of the palace, dividing the capital into 108 blocks, neatly arranged and imposing.
When Zhao Yanke said his home was at No. Jiazi on Changming Street, it meant it was extremely close to the palace, truly the most prestigious location.
Li Wanming once privately asked Feng Xiao, "Your young master lives so close to the palace and is so wealthy. Could he be a prince..."
Who was the most famous prince in the Dacheng Dynasty?
Of course, it was the Prince Ning, the one - character co - ruling prince whose title had been inherited since the time of the founding emperor.
Li Wanming was suspicious. Could this Young Master Zhao be the heir of Prince Ning who had almost become her husband...
After hearing her speculation, Feng Xiao spat out all the tea in one gulp and coughed repeatedly, saying, "No, no. Definitely not! Miss Li, please rest assured!"
Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Li Wanming felt relieved.
"I said so. I've heard that the heir of Prince Ning is in poor health, always listless. How could he be like your young master, full of energy and vitality?"
Feng Xiao: …
"It's good that it's not him. Otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing if we met," Li Wanming continued.
Feng Xiao said, "I still have something to do. I'll leave first."
"Deliver the wine before the second quarter of the fifth hour on the ninth. Miss Li, don't forget!"
Li Wanming shouted to him from afar, "Don't worry. We have experience delivering wine to the princess mansion and know the rules. We won't be late!"
The banquet at the Zhao Mansion was in the evening. But since it was a grander occasion and required more preparations, the items still needed to be delivered before the second quarter of the fifth hour in the morning.
It was the same as the time at the princess mansion.
Li Wanming actually asked if, since 3,000 jars of wine were really a large quantity, they needed to deliver a batch in advance to avoid being overwhelmed on that day...
As a result, Zhao Yanke raised his eyebrows, looked at her for a while, and then said, "3,000 jars... is that a lot?"
Li Wanming was speechless.
If he didn't want it in advance, then so be it!
It would even save her an extra trip!
...
On the morning of the ninth, when the sky was still dark, Li Wanming led the convoy to set off.
There were more carriages this time, with torches lit, almost illuminating the whole street.
When they reached Changming Street, Li Wanming found that their convoy was not eye - catching at all.
The patrolling Golden Guards were in full armor, and the convoys coming and going were like a stream of traffic.
Many convoys even hoisted the shop signs high on the front of the leading carriages. The flags were so numerous that they almost blocked the sky above Changming Street.
Li Wanming widened her eyes. "Are these all here to deliver goods to the Zhao Mansion?"
Xiao Jingnan nodded. "It should be. Just think about it. If they need 3,000 jars of wine, it must be a huge banquet."
He paused for a moment and then said, "But I've heard that Changming Street is actually crowded every morning."
"All the civil and military officials need to go to court, and the palace also needs to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables... So there is a constant flow of people, and it's quite bustling even in the early morning."
After hearing what he said, Li Wanming thought it made sense.
"Oh, that's right. But at that time, there is a curfew, and we commoners can't go out, so we haven't seen it."
She looked at the small token in her hand and smiled. "Fortunately, Young Master Zhao gave this to us in advance. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have been able to come out."
The token was about the size of a palm, entirely gilded. On the back was engraved a pattern of two dragons soaring in the clouds, and on the front were two ancient seal - script characters with simple and elegant strokes.
Li Wanming didn't recognize them very well, so she struggled to make them out in the light of the torch. "Sheng... Hey, do you think this looks like the character 'Sheng'?"
Xiao Jingnan glanced at it. "It does. It says 'Imperial Edict'."
Li Wanming gave him a disdainful look. "There's 'Imperial Edict' written on Young Master Zhao's token... What does he want to do? Rebel?"
She nudged Xiao Jingnan with her elbow rudely and reminded him, "Don't talk nonsense. Using imperial - made items without permission is a capital offense!"
She still had lingering fears about what had happened a few days ago.
Xiao Jingnan leaned against the carriage and smiled faintly without refuting.
I've told you, but you just don't believe me...
The carriage swayed and suddenly stopped.
"What's going on? Why aren't we moving?"
Just as Li Wanming was wondering, suddenly the carriage curtain was pulled open with a whoosh, and Chuntao's anxious face appeared.
It was already a bit cold in the morning of September, but her forehead was covered in sweat.
"Miss, come out and take a look quickly. There's something wrong with Young Master Zhao's home!"
"Wrong?"
Li Wanming was stunned. "What's wrong? Can't we find the place?"
It shouldn't be. No. Jiazi on Changming Street should be easy to find!
"It's not that we can't find it. It's that there's no... Well, it's not that there's no, it's just..."
Chuntao was so anxious that her face turned red. She hurriedly dragged Li Wanming out of the carriage. "Miss, you'd better come out and take a look for yourself!"
In front of them was a magnificent city.
The eaves were soaring, the green tiles and red walls were imposing, and it towered into the clouds.
The city tower, more than ten meters high, stood there solemnly. In the dark night, it was like a giant dragon coiled here, looking down on her from high above in the vast night sky.
This was... the palace.
The most magnificent and imposing place in the Dacheng Dynasty!
"Why did we come here?"
Li Wanming grabbed Chuntao and walked back. "Even though it's close, we can't really go into the palace. Hurry up and go! Don't offend the guards..."
Chuntao pulled her back and was so anxious that she stammered, "No. Jiazi... No. Jiazi on Changming Street. They said... it's here!"
Here... Where was here?
"Do you mean... the palace?"
"Yes!" Chuntao nodded. "I asked the guard over there. He said there's no No. Jiazi on Changming Street. If we have to find No. Jiazi, it's here!"
Li Wanming's head boomed.
She watched Chuntao's mouth open and close, but she couldn't hear what she was saying.
It took a long time for her scattered thoughts to slowly gather.
"Do you mean that No. Jiazi on Changming Street... is the palace?"
Chuntao nodded vigorously. "Miss, I inquired clearly. I asked the guard and several uncles who came to deliver goods. They all said it's here!"
Li Wanming struggled to sort out the information she had heard, but she just couldn't make sense of it.
Xiao Jingnan walked over, grabbed the token from her hand, and said to Chuntao, "Go and ask if this token can get us in. If it can, then we're in the right place."
Chuntao took the token and ran over.
From afar, Li Wanming saw Chuntao say a few words to the general guarding the city and showed him the token.
The general looked at it carefully for a while, then looked at Chuntao, and waved his hand towards the back, indicating that they could pass.
He actually... let them pass...
Chuntao waved to Li Wanming in front, but she was beaming with excitement. "Miss, the guard said we can go! Come quickly. We're going to enter the palace!"